Alliance Medical Wins Major NHS Contract

The largest private provider of medical imaging services in Europe, Alliance Medical, has been awarded a 5 year contract by the NHS to help tackle England's MRI scanning waiting lists.
Alliance Medical, will carry out 110,900 examinations in the first year, and 131,200 examinations a year in the remaining four years. A total of 635,000 scans will be undertaken during the lifetime of the contract.
The service will begin before the end of July with the programme fully operational by the end of 2004. The contract represents a 16% increase in scanning capacity in England and will make a significant contribution to non-emergency MRI scanning.
In all, 12 mobile MRI units will be made available to all 28 strategic health authorities. The company will work with them to plan the service in each area.

Dr Andy Dun, Medical Director for Alliance Medical said: "Leading edge mobile MRI technology combined with highly trained clinical staff ensures that Alliance Medical can provide the NHS with an outstanding service for patients. Since our inception 15 years ago, Alliance has worked in close partnership with dozens of NHS hospitals, providing them with a high quality and cost effective mobile MRI service. This contract builds on this relationship and expands the range of services to include Patient booking and Radiology Reporting"

Alliance Medical will call patients on waiting lists and book them for appointments at mobile scanners stationed at hospitals near them. The service will initially run for six days each week increasing to run seven days a week, and twelve hours a day from November 2004. All clinical staff will be additional to the NHS, ensuring that precious NHS resources are not depleted.

Click here to see the Department of Health press announcement.

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

• Locations for scanners will be arranged by SHA Cluster:

London - 2 units, 18,477 Procedures in Year 1 (Full Year: 21,866)

North East, Yorkshire and Humber - 2 units, 18,477 Procedures in Y1 (Full Year: 21,866)

North West and West Midlands - 3 units, 27,715 procedures in Y1 (Full Year: 32,799)

East Midlands and East - 2 units, 18,477 Procedures in Y1 (Full Year: 21,866)

Southern - 3 units, 27,715 procedures in Y1 (Full Year: 32,799)

• Alliance Medical is the leading provider of outsourced radiology imaging services in Europe, often working in partnership with national governments and independent health providers to deliver a range of managed radiology services through mobile or fixed site solutions across almost all countries in Europe.
• Within its main markets of the UK, Italy and Spain, Alliance Medical operates nearly 75 MRI units, of which nearly 50 are mobile. In addition it operates around 25 further mobiles, including CT, PET, PET/CT; Mammography; Cardiac Catheterisation and Lithotripsy units.
• In the United Kingdom, Alliance Medical is the leading provider of MRI to both the NHS and independent sectors, operating across the UK at mobile and fixed sites, and employing more than 160 Radiographers. In addition, it runs fixed and mobile CT and PET facilities, and has developed the UK's most advanced independent Diagnostic Imaging Centre in London with PET/CT, MRI and CT in one location. Alliance Medical is also the exclusive provider of Radiology Services to CUAH (Care UK Afrox Healthcare) for their ISTC sites in Trent, Plymouth and Maidstone.

For further more information contact:

Dr Andy Dun, Medical Director,
Alliance Medical
01295 671271